A driver in a first-floor flat with an allocated parking bay wants an electric car and assumes charging at home is out of the question. Another rents a house with a driveway and does not know whether she is allowed to have a charger fitted.
Both will buy a charger eventually. Most installers never hear from them, because nothing on the website suggests these situations are possible.
Decision 1: establish the parking arrangement
Allocated bay, unallocated communal parking, an underground car park, a garage block or on-street. Each has a different answer, and only the last is genuinely difficult for a fixed home charger.
Decision 2: establish who owns what
Freeholder, leaseholder, managing agent, landlord or resident association. The person enquiring often does not know which permissions apply to them, and explaining the usual structure is genuinely helpful.
Decision 3: explain the permission process
What a freeholder or managing agent typically wants to see: the installation method, who owns the equipment, what happens to the wiring, insurance, who pays for electricity and what happens if the resident leaves. An installer who can supply that information makes approval far more likely.
Decision 4: explain the electricity supply question
In a flat, the charger usually needs to connect to the resident's own supply rather than a communal one, which raises cable routing questions through communal areas. Explaining how this is typically handled reassures both the resident and the building manager.
Decision 5: capture what the installer needs
Building type, where the parking sits relative to the flat, the distance from the consumer unit, whether the route crosses communal areas, whether the property is owned or rented and whether permission has been sought.
Resident: I live in a flat with an allocated bay. Is a charger even possible? Assistant: Often it is, depending on how far the bay is from your own electricity supply and whether the freeholder or managing agent agrees to the cable route. The page explains what building managers usually want to know and what the installer provides to support a request. Could you tell me where the bay sits relative to your flat and whether you own or rent?
Landlords are a market, not an obstacle
Landlords adding chargers make properties more attractive to tenants. Publishing information aimed at landlords, including what it costs and how it is billed, reaches buyers who purchase several installations rather than one, much like the property relationships described in AI receptionist for letting agents.
Communal schemes
Some buildings install shared charging for residents, which is a larger project with metering, billing and management arrangements, closer to the work described in workplace charging enquiries from businesses.
Be honest where it will not work
On-street parking with no dedicated space usually cannot support a private charger. Saying so plainly, and pointing to public charging as the realistic option, is better than a survey that wastes everyone's time.
Standard home installs
Houses with driveways follow the straightforward path described in home EV charger installation enquiries and survey details and EV charger installation questions homeowners ask. Captured enquiries can flow into your systems through webhooks on Pro, as described on the integrations page.
How SpideyChat handles it
SpideyChat for electricians answers from your published guidance, captures building and parking details and never promises an installation is possible. You can see handover on the demo, and plans are on the pricing page.